Deadlines for gov't reshuffle or snap vote start running

The 151-seat parliament on Thursday voted no confidence in non-partisan Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic, whereby his cabinet was toppled, and the ouster marked the start of a 30-day deadline for parliamentary parties to form a new majority in the legislature and appoint a new government.

If none of the parties manage to secure the support required for a new Prime Minister-Designate within the deadline defined by the Constitution, the President is expected to dissolve the parliament and call a parliamentary election not sooner than 30 days and not later than 60 days upon the parliament's dissolution.

The Oreskovic cabinet, which consists of ministers from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)-led coalition and the Bridge party, will be serving as a caretaker government until the appointment of a new one.

After 125 MPs gave Oreskovic a vote of no confidence, while 15 voted against and two abstained, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic convened consultations with parliamentary parties for Friday.

The HDZ, which submitted the no-confidence motion, believes that it will succeed in collecting 76 signatures in the parliament for a new government to be led by Zdravko Maric, the finance minister in the caretaker government.

This attempt could be hampered by an initiative by the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the parliament's dissolution. Motions to that effect have been submitted to the parliament by MPs of the Labour Party and the Human Shield party.

The Bridge party, whose 12 lawmakers were against Oreskovic's impeachment, is likely to join the initiative for the parliament's dissolution, as it believes that a snap election should ensue after the parliament ousted Oreskovic.

Bridge leader Bozo Petrov said that the party's MPs would join the initiative after an agreement was reached on a date for the early vote. Bridge seems to be in favour of holding the polls in September.

Beirut (dpa) - Syrian government forces and their allies advanced deeper into the shrinking rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo on Wednesday, seizing the Old City, while demanding the armed opposition groups leave the area.